Dragon Age : Redemption
by Gehenna79
Summary: (AU) She's been given a chance to start over, to fight to save the world from the chaos she had a hand in starting. Now, Meredith Stannard must lead the Inquisition against the forces of darkness bent on tearing the world apart.
1. Arrival

**DRAGON AGE: REDEMPTION**

She had been asleep a long while, but the first thing to greet the former Knight-Commander's eyes was a bright, blue sky with ivory clouds floating lazily overhead. It was cold, but she had never minded the cold, not even when her breath came out in fog. She heard the sound of wagon wheels creaking underneath her, and the coughs of the soldiers on horseback escorting the wagon itself.

"Ah," a Nevarran-accented voice announced, "She wakes."

And so, the first person Meredith Stannard saw was the Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast, a hard, severe woman with short, jet black hair and a scar down her pale-skinned cheek. A longsword was sheathed on her hip, and a curved steel shield was slung over her back, an a sunburst imprinted onto it.

"Seeker," Meredith grumbled. Oh, how she loathed them and their false sense of superiority, their arrogant belief that they were the only ones capable of truly solving problems, save the Divine, the only one they answered to.

"We are almost there," Cassandra said atop her mount, "Haven."

"The Conclave," replied Meredith.

"Yes, indeed."

Meredith decided to scrape up what dignity she had left and sit up in the carriage, to get a better view of the titanic mountains around her. They were not called Frostbacks for jest. They towered into the sky, jagged summits dusted with snow. In truth, Meredith have never been to Ferelden, and had never seen mountains such as these.

"They could not have picked a more lovely place for my execution."

Cassandra turned to face Meredith and asked pointedly, "So certain are you, that you face your demise?"

"I have heard that Justinia is forgiving," retorted Meredith, "I do not think she is _that _forgiving, Seeker. Not with the story you brewed up for her."

"My story? Well, you will probably get the chance to tell your side to her, if it makes things any better."

"Little good that will do me," they were beginning to ascend up a steep hill, "She will not take my word against yours. Not when you bring the Dwarf as well."

"He is just like you, Meredith, a prisoner. But he can attest to Red Lyrium, what it does, and how you used it. Which is pertinent to whom she'll put blame on for starting this war, though it does little to make peace, which is the real purpose of the Conclave."

Meredith scoffed, "If you want somebody to blame, I'll tell you easy whom deserves it, it was that Mage, the Grey Warden, the one who blew up the Chantry. I am guilty of a great many things, things I will pay for with my life without hesitation, if that is what the Divine decides, but I am not guilty of starting this war."

Cassandra smiled slightly. They came over the top of a rise, looking down into a wide valley that led to another squat peak nestled between two greater peaks. At the top of the squat peak was a great stone temple, and making their way towards the temple, were great flocks of Mages and Templars, walking in tandem on either side of the wide road, traders and mercenaries camped out on either side of them in long rows of canvas tents, watching the parade.

"Varric said the same thing about the Mage known as Anders, so it follows that you most likely will not be charged with starting the war. But you will be charged, but for what, that lays in the hands of the Divine now. So come, it is time we saw her."

* * *

><p>The Grand Divine walked into the main hall, just as the servants had begun to light the torches and the brazier, filling it with warmth. Meredith saw a train of people following the Divine, just as Meredith and Varric were led by Cassandra into the temple. On the Divine's left was a mysterious red-headed woman, and behind the Divine were four Grey Wardens, identified by Gryphons emblazoned on their talbards. Most of them were armed with swords and shields, but one among them, an elf, possessed the staff of a Mage.<p>

Cassandra knelt on the ground, "Most Holy," she said.

The Divine's eyes had already flickered to Meredith, then slowly trailed over to Varric, who had knelt as well, strangely enough. The Divine smiled and said to Cassandra, "So these are the guests you've told me so much about."

"Yes, Most Holy."

The Divine walked right up to Meredith, looked her up and down, and then spoke, "I have heard of your reputation, Knight-Commander. It is a shame we did not meet under better circumstances."

"You do me more honor than I deserve, Most Holy," replied Meredith evenly.

"Is that a fact? From what I understand, you were the one who ordered the Kirkwall circle purged in the wake of an act of terrorism, committed of course, by a Mage."

"I invoked the Right of Annulment, as it is the power of the Knight-Commander to do so."

"So, if it was indeed in your power then," the Divine walked away from her to Varric, "I wonder then...why is our world on the brink of war? Should not have the other Circles seen your actions as legal? I wonder if the Dwarf can add to this?"

Varric gulped, seemingly shaking but he managed to hold his voice steady when he answered, "I...I'm sure Cassandra has told you everything I know already, and it would be real boring to have to repeat it the same exact way again, your Holiness. Its no fun if I can't change the details."

The Divine smiled, "True. But is Meredith innocent?"

"Depends. On what charge?"

"Enough," Meredith scowled, "I can speak for myself, I do not need the testimony of this...Dwarf."

"I'm sure you can," replied the Divine, "you still have a tongue. But I did not ask you to speak yet, did I? And Varric," she turned back to him, "did she start the war?"

Varric paused and then shook his head, "No. Anders did. But if he was the spark, then she heaved on the kindling. She's at least partly to blame."

"So then," asked the Divine, "What reason is it that you believe I do you more honor than you deserve?"

"I...I became addicted to Lyrium...Red Lyrium."

"Red Lyrium?" The Divine was confused, "Strange, I've never heard of such a thing before, have you Leliana?"

The red-haired woman shook her head and said, "No, Most Holy."

"That's one of the reasons," interrupted Cassandra, "Among many, that Varric is here. He can attest to Red Lyrium's properties."

"And I can as well," said Meredith, "It is not something you...forget. Even after a year of withdrawal, the infection still...lingers. Its voice still speaks sometimes in the Fade."

At that moment, coming from down the hall, a serving elf ran in. She bowed before the Divine, and said, "A message for you, Most Holy."

The Divine took it and then read aloud to Cassandra and Leliana, "The Lord Seeker and Fiona's representatives have arrived at the Scout Outpost down the southern Highway. They will be here soon, and we must receive them. Guards, take the prisoners to proper quarters. Unshackle them and watch over them until the morrow. Then...then they will get to speak their stories."

The guards escorted Meredith away, as she watched the Grand Divine leaving off with Cassandra and Leliana.

They took her to a room on the far side of the temple, old rooms of holy reflection hastily turned into living quarters. Yet, compared to where Meredith had slept in the past year since the Viscount of Kirkwall, Garrett Hawke, had imprisoned her, it was like a palace bedroom.

The guards unshackled her and closed the door. It could not be locked. They took up their positions on the other side of the hall, facing the door.

She rubbed at her chafed hands. Nothing to do now but wait.

There was a window in her room, with a stained-glass painting on it. She walked over to it, examining how the sun fell in shafts of colored light through it. She saw how the painting was meant to depict Andraste in her final hours, betrayed by her mortal husband, jealous of her own devotion to the Maker. The painting was beautiful, and Meredith spent some time looking at it, before something caught her eye.

The window overlooked a tight alley between parts of the temple. She saw underneath movement, and after awkwardly trying to crane her head in, she managed to make out a group of Grey Wardens and a monstrously tall figure cloaked walking around.

It seemed strange to her, and she had never trusted Grey Wardens. But the thing that got to her was the size of the cloaked figure.

That feeling of strangeness, that lingering curiosity, was the last thing she would remember before everything was soon lost.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: A couple things moving forward this series. I really hate having to do this, but I am aware that the first thing people may bring up is that even without possession of the Red Lyrium Idol, Bartrand still went insane, and thus it would make sense that Meredith would have too. Which is correct, however, if we were to follow this, then there would be no story, so my official excuse will be Meredith's "strength of will", until Bioware gives me the rights to retcon whatever I want in the future.<strong>

**Also, this story is essentially a novelization of Inquisition, like what many other people have been doing, but with Meredith as the Inquisitor, as you could probably figure out. But, since Inquisition is a game over a hundred hours long, if not more, I will be condensing this game to its main plot and party member arcs only. So essentially, quests like Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts will be written as well as quests like Well, Shit, but not collecting Grey Warden bottles or fighting the Freemen of the Dales and stuff like that. **


	2. Wrath of Heaven Part I

**_Two and a Half Days Later_**

* * *

><p>For the second time in almost three days, Meredith was waking up again in chains, only to find that she did not remember how and why she had got there. No longer was she in the luxurious guest room turned cell, now she was in an <em>actual<em> cell, dark and cold, closed off by iron bars and blockaded by half a squad of guards. All of them looked upon her in fear – especially when a flickering of green light erupted from her left hand.

"What?" she mumbled to herself, not sure if she was alive, dead, or dreaming. Maybe she had ended up in the Fade? Fragments of her memory seemed to suggest she had been there, running away from the monsters chasing her and into the arms of a glowing white figure, possibly a woman.

She was still gazing at the mark on her hand when Cassandra and Leliana walked into the room, Cassandra's eyes displaying nothing but anger, while Leliana appeared more calm in her demeanor.

"What's going on?" demanded Meredith.

Cassandra, with fire in her eyes, turned round on Meredith with her sword pointed at the captive's neck, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now."

"Because then you would have only brought me here just to threaten to kill me? After all the effort you made to get me here? Seems I was right about you Seekers after all, about not being the sharpest knives in the drawer."

Cassandra pointed the tip of her sword deeper into Meredith's thin neck, until a drop of blood was drawn out by the prick, "I would not bait me if I were you, Templar."

Leliana pushed Cassandra away and rebuked her, "We _need_ her, Cassandra."

"Need me for what? What in Andraste's name is going on, Seeker?"

"The Conclave is destroyed. Everybody who attended is dead...except for you."

"Ah," Meredith nodded, "You want a scapegoat for the blame."

"It would be easier...the people have already decided your guilt...they need it. Telling me everything that transpired will be the only way of even having the possibility of a fair trial."

"I remember nothing between now and when I spoke to the Divine."

"That was almost three days ago...you will have to forgive me if I don't believe you, but be lucky I cannot risk harming you."

Meredith chuckled cynically, "How noble of you, Seeker, not to burn the Lyrium in my blood, well if I still had any. Now do I have to ask again, what's going on? How can the Conclave be destroyed? and how can three days have gone by without me even being aware of it?"

Cassandra stood back, looked aside to Leliana and said, "It will be easier if I show you. Leliana, go to the forward camp, I will take her to the Rift."

Leliana nodded and left. Cassandra undid Meredith's shackles and led her outside. The light stung Meredith's eyes at first, but as they adjusted they widened to the size of soup spoons in horror. The sky...it had been torn.

A huge, gaping maw of sickly green light hung over where the Temple had been, pillars of the same green energy streaming from the ground into the hole itself. Globs of green flame spewed forth from it, falling down to the surface of Thedas like vile meteorites.

"Andraste defend us..." Meredith breathed to herself first, before turning to Cassandra with furrowed brows, "An explosion might account for my lack of memory, though does nothing to explain how I would have survived. But now do you see, Seeker, the threat that all Magic poses to us? I wonder now if you think there's any chance for peace? What a foolish notion."

"Although this threat is indeed a magical one," a firm, educated voice said from behind them, "No Mage could possess this kind of power, the power to break the Veil apart. But you...you might have the power to stop this from getting any worse, Knight-Commander."

Meredith turned to see an elf dressed in a ragged robe, carrying the staff of a Mage. His head was completely bald, and his bright blue eyes shone fiercely with an inner power that Meredith could not put her finger on. Already, she did not trust him, "Stay away from me, Mage," she said.

"He's no danger to any of us, especially not you," said Varric, who had come along with the elf, "In fact, he was the one that kept that mark from killing you in your sleep. I think that warrants at least a thank you."

Meredith and the elf locked stares until finally, Meredith asked, "What is your name, Mage?"

"I am Solas. And I suppose I should be thankful you have the decency to at least call me Mage instead of simply, 'elf'," Solas replied curtly.

"I have no quarrel with elves. I have known many worthy elves in my time. I have only known one good Mage, maybe two if you prove useful."

"Enough," barked Cassandra, "We must get her to the Rift. But first, we must see Solas, if your theory will work."

"What theory?" asked Meredith.

"I believe the mark on your hand may be capable of closing the Breach. It glows with the same kind of energy that they do. I have some experience in this field of magic, which is why I came to your Chantry's aid."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Varric, "We should get moving while we still have feet."

Cassandra clicked her tongue, "I appreciate the thought Varric but..."

"Have you been in the valley yet? Your men aren't in control anymore. Face it, Seeker, you _need_ me, and if you're going to be trusting her...well then you need somebody who hates her just as much as you to keep his eyes on her for you."

"How touching is your concern for my safety, Dwarf," said Meredith dryly, "But don't you think I should be armed, Seeker?"

"You do _not _need to fight, Templar."

Meredith scoffed , "I suppose when the Demons get past your guard, you just expect me to lay down and take it? I need to defend myself, Seeker."

"I agree," said Solas, "Give her a sword and a shield at least. We can easily take her if she tries anything."

Cassandra was silent for a moment then sighed and brought Meredith a great-sword that had been lying around, "Do not make me regret this."

"You forget yourself, Seeker. This is foul magic...this is what I was trained to do, my duty. Hopefully we will find some Lyrium on the way and I can suppress these demons once and for all."

* * *

><p>They combed their way forward, marching through snowy fields and over rocky hills, using the sounds of dying soldiers in the distance as their marker. Meredith did not fear, but a bit of nervousness had crept up into her. It had been sometime since she had been allowed to use a weapon, and sometime further when she had fought any kind of demon. She had lingering doubts about her ability to step up to this task.<p>

Varric, despite himself, could not help but ask, "So you really don't remember what happened, Templar?"

"No."

"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard."

"It's not an excuse, Dwarf. It's the truth. Though I know how little trust my word garners these days, thanks to you and the Seeker."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to try and kill everybody in Kirkwall."

Meredith said nothing at first, then sighed, "I know, Dwarf. I know," she paused, "How exactly _did _your people find me, Seeker?"

Cassandra was hesitant to answer, but then replied, "They say you stepped out of a rift...a woman was behind you...the Soldiers believe it was Andraste herself, and they found you at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, which is where we're going now."

"Andraste herself? I doubt I warrant that much importance."

"Maybe so...if that mark does what we need it to," said Cassandra bluntly.

They continued on through a long forest, and upon reaching the top of another rise, they looked down at the foot of a long valley, a large group of Chantry soldiers was trying to hold off their position from a large group of demons, all coming from a green hole in the air, rippling with the same kind of energy the Breach was.

"One of the smaller rifts," explained Solas, "Let us charge down there, and find out if your mark can get rid of them, once and for all."

And so, as Solas said, they charged down the hill. Meredith drew her great-sword and plunged it into the heart of the first demon she saw, a Shade whose dark cloak was covered in chains, splattered with the blood of men. She ran it through, then pushed it off with the heel of her boot, sending the body flying to the ground.

Demonic screams followed. Cloaked figures with long, malevolent features had risen nearby, along with wispy beings made of green energy. Both began launching projectiles at the company, daggers of ice followed by green flame. Meredith rolled to the ground and caught one of the Wraiths through the groin, heaving it up into the air before bringing it down to get at the next.

Cassandra was on her left, engaging a duo of Shades, and Solas and Varric were in the back, providing support. Solas was laying waste to the battlefield with explosions of flame, burning and melting the skin of Shades to a blackened crisp, the stench horrifying to bear, so Meredith didn't focus on it. It had been some time she had killed a demon, but the rush of battle was infused into her soul and her body was invigorated with warmth. The cold of the mountains was nothing to her now.

They fought their way to aid the soldiers at the hill, they who had been cowering behind wooden spikes, boots frozen to the ground. The soldiers rallied and charged down to hit their attackers from behind, and engage the Rift itself. It was like lyrium, expanding and shrinking before their eyes while it cast a field of green around it. Green here, green there, green was everywhere, and it would forever cast a pall on the color to the soldiers.

Meredith reached the rift, the light forcing her to shield her eyes. Solas came on her side suddenly, and yelled, "Now!" while grabbing her arm and forcing her hand to touch at the rift itself.

"Hey!" she tried to protest, not used to being touched, much less by a Mage, but quickly forgot as she felt a stream of energy pour from her and out her hand. She felt, for the first time in her life, touched by magic, not deadened to it.

It was a feeling that felt exhilarating, but then we she realized it was a conduit some minutes later, it left her full of fear, uncertainty, and faint revulsion.

But in the meantime, the rift ruptured in on itself, finally dissipating and absorbing all traces of the demons with it in a flash of light.

Silence followed. Then, Solas coughed and said, "It seems I was right after all. You hold the key to our salvation."

Meredith did not say anything, merely staring down at her hand.

"No pressure or anything," commented Varric.

Meredith glared at him, before asking Cassandra, "What's next?"

"What's next," a man's voice, one with a Fereldan accent, "Is we make for the Temple, and end this before it gets worse."

A tall, strong, and blonde-haired man had arrived, a man that Meredith instantly knew, and had mixed feelings about. On one hand he had been one of her most trusted subordinates, one of the few that could even possibly be counted as a "friend" if such a thing existed in Meredith's life. But on the other hand...

_He betrayed you...him and the Champion's brother...they betrayed you...not fit to live...supporters of the Mages_... the voices were speaking to her again, the song of the Red Lyrium that she had thought was dead, but now brought back to life with the presence of Cullen Rutherford.

"Of all the good people we've lost," Cullen began, looking at her, "Somehow you're still here."

"Yet we need her," said Solas.

"I can see that. We must gather all our troops and prepare for one final push into the valley. Then we'll see what we can do about the Breach...if we survive of course."

They all gathered around, Meredith casting one last look at Cullen, who returned it with a disappointed shake. For some reason, that affected her more than it should have.

_I failed him_...she thought, _I failed all my Templars the moment I picked up that sword, and when I used it on them. Maker forgive me._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note:<em> As you can see, I've also condensed sections of gameplay to be shorter. Not because I'm lazy (well maybe a little bit) but because it will get tiring quickly to read and write the same descriptions of green rifts over and over again.**


	3. Wrath of Heaven Part II

With over two hundred troops at their back, marching in an unruly mob, Meredith and her allies charged forward into the sunken valley, crossing over piles of scorched bodies and severed limbs. The snow had been painted bright red, trails of intestines were scattered everywhere, and the pained screams of dying horses were all but enough to turn some of her men's bowels to water. Yet, they continued on, even when another rift appeared at the edge of the valley, daring them to continue on to the Temple.

She took the dare, charging with a battle cry.

Smelling of brimstone, body charged with curling flame, a Rage Demon appeared from with the Rift, belching out a blood-curdling roar. On either side of it were a pair of Terror Demons, green, stick-like creatures with oblong heads and skin that looked like tree bark. Their spines were also decorated in long spikes, and their hands and feet were clawed. They were rarer demons, of a kind that Meredith had little experience fighting.

One of them leaped at Meredith and she blocked its swipe with her blade. Chips of its skin were cut off, and it let out a screech that hurt her ears. She managed to keep her focus though as she slashed at its legs and its lower torso, hacking at it while a river of fire burst around her. The Terror demon retreated back, and she flanked to the left of the Rift, all the way to the top of a hill, to see if she could get close enough to seal that rift.

Meredith put her hand out, and a stream of energy connected from her palm to the Rift. The Rift pulsated quickly, and the demons behind her screamed. Cassandra headbutted into the Terror demon before it could claw at Meredith, and the two went tumbling into the ground, about the same time as the Rift sealed altogether. The Terror demon let out a frightening shriek, then began to dissipate into green mist, flying back into the hole that was there a moment ago.

Silence once more broke the battlefield, as the remaining demons were dragged back into the Fade. Meredith panted a little bit, until Cassandra urged her onward. Cullen remained with a few of the soldiers, while the rest of them pushed onto the temple itself, where awaited the final Rift.

* * *

><p>Fade-touched rock had emerged from the bedrock below the temple, cooled and hardened, as well as glowing with swirling patterns of green energy. The rocks had formed a sort of ring around the temple, which was now nothing more than a deep crater. As Meredith walked towards a ruined entryway, she saw the bodies of people, caught in the blast and petrified into stone, their scorched corpses still on fire. The blast had caught their bodies in poses that not even the greatest sculptor could recreate; their mouths opened wide in horror, trying to let a scream, but none would they utter further.<p>

Meredith almost grimaced. She followed Cassandra through the entryway, looking onto the crater itself. The source Rift was down below, beneath levels of the demolished temple and down to the steaming rock.

Suddenly, Meredith heard a voice, "You're here, thank the Maker!" turning to see that was Leliana with at least two score of archers.

"Leliana," Cassandra ordered, "Have your men take up positions around the temple."

Leliana and the archers marched off. Cassandra asked Meredith, "This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?"

"I assume you have a plant to get us up there?" Meredith replied, looking up at the swirling morass of clouds and rock above.

"No," said Solas, "This rift was the first, and it is the key. Seal the rift, and it may also seal the Breach."

"Then let's find a way down," said Cassandra, "and be careful."

They walked around the side of the crater, which sloped downwards as it curved. As they came around an angle, Meredith spotted a glow of red in her eyesight, and then felt a surge of pain ripple through her, forcing her to her knees.

"Red Lyrium!" exclaimed Varric.

Meredith could hear the voices again, much louder than before, taunting her to give in to their promise of power. It had taken almost a year for her to break its hold on her. Hawke had only spared her for that reason, for in the months leading up to the battle, her actions had not been fully her own, and for the fact that he wanted to see if people could recover from its taint, since Varric's own brother had succumbed to her power.

But she was no fat, lazy dwarf merchant. She was a Templar, and with the power of the Maker at her side, she could do anything. But the voices knew how to tempt her.

_You need this power...think of your sister...how she killed so many...the Mages must pay for what they do...take it...take the power that is yours..._

"Enough," said Cassandra, dragging Meredith away.

Meredith gasped for air for a moment, then got back up on her feet, still shaking and feeling strangely hungry.

"Red Lyrium still seems to have a hold on her," said Varric, "But my brother never recovered."

"I'm good to continue," said Meredith, "Keep going."

They kept walking on while Varric muttered to himself, "What's this shit doing here of all places?"

* * *

><p>They then approached the rift, its crystals contracting and spreading out in a rhythmic fashion. As she got close to it, Meredith's mark began to glow. Suddenly, everybody, not just Meredith, heard the voice of the Divine, call out from within the magic of the Rift, "Someone. Help me!"<p>

"What's going on here!" Meredith's voice said, but not from the Meredith standing in front of the Rift, but a different one, speaking through the Fade.

"That was your voice," said Cassandra, confused, "Most Holy called out to you. But..."

Suddenly a wave of energy enveloped all of them, and the air around them stilled and went pale green. A dark figure, shrouded in shadows with burning embers for eyes, was standing in front of the Divine. She was captive, bound in strange magic while something was sucking energy from her. Meredith wondered, _is this some kind of blood magic_?

Then, Meredith saw herself run in and say again, "What's going on here?"

"Run while you can!" the Divine warned, "Warn them!"

"We have an intruder," the shadowed figure, in a voice that was dark and cold, "Kill the Templar. Now!"

"You were there!" Cassandra bellowed, "Who attacked? And is the Divine dead? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?"

"I don't remember any of this Seeker! The shadowy figure responsible must have stripped my memories away! I could be possessed for all I know."

"I doubt that," commented Solas, before walking over to the Rift. He waved his staff in front of it and then said, "This Rift is not sealed, but it is closed. Albeit temporarily. I believe that with the Mark, the Rift can be opened and then sealed properly and safely. However, opening the Rift may attract attention from the other side."

"That means demons!" said Cassandra, "Stand ready!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: This chapter was short, but I wanted to put out something before I become unable to write as much again. Also, I wanted to give the Pride Demon fight the material it deserves. That Pride Demon is a magnificent bastard.<strong>


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